The ABC allows comments on some of our articles, as a space for you to contribute your thoughts about news events and participate in civil conversations about topical issues.

All comments are moderated and we make no guarantees that your contribution will be published.

Reply

Author

Email

Date/Time

04 Mar 2015 9:50:08am

Text

PreviousMessage

Hi Mel,

Yes, time to end this soon... but some quick responses:

Chess-playing computers were just an example of how complex, organised arrangements of matter can have extraordinary properties, but they're not conscious. However, the human brain is a vastly more sophisticated, evolved biological machine, with billions of components, and trillions of connections between them, and it has properties that are correspondingly even more extraordinary. You simply underestimate the power of such organised complexity.

Purposes are not inherent in the universe; they are properties of conscious, evolved creatures like us. It takes no faith to believe that.

In any case, you've still never told me how adding a supernatural component helps give us choice and purpose. (And if this component is made of smaller parts, like matter is made of atoms, then your argument applies to this too.)